India’s Development vs Environment!

KAKALI DAS

The future of India depends on how we choose to handle the environment, climate change, and infrastructure development today. Recent events have shown us how fragile our situation is.

In Himachal Pradesh, cloudbursts and floods have swept away timber and destroyed lives. In Punjab, devastating floods have submerged entire towns. In Jammu and Kashmir, in Uttarakhand, and even in Delhi, the same story repeats.

In places of Assam, especially in Guwahati, during heavy rain you either need to swim or take a boat to move around. This is the real state of our infrastructure.

We keep talking about building six-lane highways, eight-lane expressways, and tunnels in the Himalayas without realizing that the Himalayas are very fragile and young mountains. Any tunnelling or blasting here disturbs the delicate balance of nature. But instead of focusing on proper drainage systems, sustainable housing, and safe construction practices, we keep repeating the same mistakes. Nature responds to these injustices, and today we are witnessing the consequences.

The Brahmaputra River: A Transboundary Titan of Geomorphology, Ecology, and Geopolitics

Take the example of the NamamiGange project. Thousands of crores of rupees have been spent over the years, yet the Ganga is still polluted. Every day, millions of litres of untreated sewage flow into the river, and only a small portion is treated. This contaminated water then enters our food system because it is used to irrigate crops. The food we eat is toxic, diseases are spreading, and cancer cases are rising. This is a direct impact on human health.

The government often speaks about GDP growth, but what is the use of GDP if basic infrastructure, like clean water and sanitation, is broken? Experts estimate that if environmental degradation continues at this pace, India’s GDP could decrease by 6%.

This is why discussions on these issues are critical. Development must happen, but it must happen in harmony with nature. Many experts in the field of environment and climate change have been raising their voices for years. They remind us that natural disasters like heavy rains, cloudbursts, and floods are not random accidents anymore. They are intensified by human activity and climate change.

If we look back, even during British rule, there were strict flood control manuals for every district. Local administrations had guidelines on how to inspect and maintain flood protection systems. But today such systems have collapsed. We only look at rivers in a utilitarian way – as a source of water and sand. We forget that a river is a living system with its own ecology. By reducing it to just a resource, we are destroying it.

The 2013 Kedarnath tragedy is a painful example. At Dharchula, on the route to Mansarovar, floods from the Kalinga river swept away entire villages, triple-storey houses, and even government and army establishments built on the riverbed. The river reclaimed its flow, as if warning us: if you trouble me, I will trouble you. Yet, we continue to build recklessly.

The scientific approach that is needed in India is often confused with an engineering approach. Science tells us that rivers are not just channels of flowing water. Water exists in many forms – blue water in rivers and lakes, and green water in soils, vegetation, and forests. Forests act like sponges, recharging groundwater and maintaining the hydrological cycle. But we ignore this natural balance and invest only in over-engineered solutions like dams and tunnels. Without a scientific and ecological approach, problems will only compound.

Research shows that in the last decade, heavy rainfall days have increased in nearly two-thirds of Indian tehsils compared to the previous three decades. What we once called “extreme weather” is becoming the new normal. What is extreme today may be ordinary tomorrow. We need to rethink how we plan cities and infrastructure. Drainage systems must be designed to handle stormwater separately from sewage. Mixing the two creates disaster. But today, drains are filled with debris and garbage, making them useless when heavy rains arrive.

Too often, governments focus on disaster response after the damage is done rather than disaster prevention and mitigation. Each flood destroys schools, hospitals, water supply systems, roads, and dams. These are massive economic losses, yet we keep repeating the same pattern. Leaders often present the issue as “development versus environment,” but this is a false argument. True development cannot exist without environmental sustainability. What we are doing in the name of development today is actually destruction.

Climate change has already altered rainfall patterns. In Himachal Pradesh alone, 90% of the days during June, July, and August this year saw extreme rainfall. Western disturbances, which used to occur mainly in winter, are now appearing in summer because the warming Arctic has destabilized the polar jet stream. Winds from the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal are combining to unleash cloudbursts. While climate change is increasing the intensity of rains, our reckless blasting of mountains, unplanned hydropower projects, and uncontrolled construction in seismic zones are multiplying the destruction.

The problem is not only environmental but also institutional. India has environmental protection laws, water and air acts, and even the National Green Tribunal. But enforcement is weak. Compensation after a disaster is hardly ever adequate. Pollution Control Boards exist but have been rendered toothless. Corruption in construction and planning further worsens the crisis. Without deterrence, governance, and rule of law, these institutions cannot protect us.

Even infrastructure projects that were initially designed for multiple purposes are failing today because planning and maintenance are absent. The Bhakra dam, for example, once reduced flooding in Punjab. Today, the management of dams and barrages is poor. When water levels rise dangerously, authorities are forced to release large volumes suddenly, causing downstream floods. This shows a lack of long-term planning.

Every piece of infrastructure we build today, whether a road, a dam, or a bridge, will last for 30 to 40 years. But our planning horizon is only 10 to 15 years, tied to short-term financial returns. Climate change impacts must be built into 40-year plans. Insurance coverage for infrastructure losses is also limited in developing countries like India, meaning that when disasters strike, the economic burden falls entirely on the government and people.

We need a new paradigm of development: the green economy. The green economy is not just about solar power or tree planting. It means ensuring that every rupee spent on development adds sustainable value, creates jobs, and safeguards the environment. Studies have shown that investing in green value chains can create millions of jobs and billions in economic potential. For example, projects in Odisha and Tamil Nadu have demonstrated how ecosystem-based approaches can both protect the environment and generate livelihoods.

One powerful example is Chennai’s rainwater harvesting initiative. During severe droughts, the government made rainwater harvesting mandatory in every home. As a result, the groundwater level in the city rose significantly. Every drop of rain was captured and recharged.

Bengaluru too once had a network of lakes and ponds connected to each other, which acted as a natural drainage and storage system. But urbanization destroyed many of these water bodies. If revived, they could again serve as buffers against floods and droughts.

The traditional wisdom of rainwater harvesting and local water management has always existed in India. But today we ignore it. Instead, we rely only on short-term construction projects, often announced by politicians without proper discussion or planning, just to gather votes. These projects usually collapse when tested by extreme weather.

Water is at the center of this crisis. In cities across the country, people complain of both water scarcity and waterlogging. In summer, groundwater is over-extracted and the city faces drought-like conditions. During monsoon, the same city floods because there is no system to absorb excess water. This is the contradiction we have created. If rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge were taken seriously, both problems could be solved.

Climate change is making every crisis worse. But we still have time to act if we take serious steps now. We must recognize that nature cannot be endlessly exploited. Rivers need space to flow. Forests need to be protected to maintain the hydrological cycle. Drainage systems need to be kept clear. Infrastructure must be built with ecological sensitivity, especially in fragile zones like the Himalayas. And above all, governance must be transparent, accountable, and rooted in long-term planning.

This is not about choosing between development and the environment. This is about ensuring that development is truly sustainable, that it does not destroy the very foundations on which our lives depend. The floods, landslides, and cloudbursts we are seeing are warnings. Nature is telling us that enough is enough. If we continue on this path, disasters will only grow bigger and more frequent.

But if we act wisely, with scientific planning, ecological sensitivity, and strong governance, we can still shape a future where India develops in harmony with nature.

The choice is ours, and the time to act is now.

MAHABAHU CLIMATE FORUM

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